Most places banned indoor smoking decades ago. Smokers moved outside, and so did their butts. The Cigarette Litter Prevention Program from Keep America Beautiful, now in its 18th year, is working to reduce cigarette litter. The key, says the organization, includes four field tested strategies: Encourage enforcement of litter laws, including cigarette litterRaise awareness about…To read more — login/subscribe
St. Paul, MN (est. pop. 306,604), has long faced perceptions that its downtown is unsafe. The St. Paul Downtown Alliance has made strides on that front with an inexpensive makeover of downtown trash bins. St. Paul’s sidewalks are lined with decades-old concrete containers. Over the years, the garbage receptacles have been covered with graffiti. The…To read more — login/subscribe
What could have been a messy and unpleasant situation has become an annual tradition and attraction in downtown Portland, OR. The problem is crows roosting in downtown trees at night. “Cars, sidewalks, benches, handrails, and just about everything else under the trees is fair game when Mother Nature calls, leading to concentrated splatters of bird…To read more — login/subscribe
Stockton, CA (est. pop. 310,476), has endured its share of struggles. The city filed for bankruptcy in the aftermath of the Great Recession, and its poverty rate of more than 19 percent is far above the state average. But downtown Stockton is on the mend, and its downtown is gaining momentum thanks to an unlikely…To read more — login/subscribe
A few cities are testing a high-tech innovation in a decidedly low-tech corner of urban placemaking. San Francisco (est. pop. 884,363) and Pittsburgh (est. pop. 302,414) are among the cities that are relying on “smart” trash bins that use sensors to alert garbage collectors as the receptacles reach capacity. While no downtown benefits from overflowing…To read more — login/subscribe
